Upholding the Green Concept to Safeguard the Earth Home Project | Protected Areas | Earth
Reindeer cross the site of CGN Sweden's Arctic wind power project.
Photo by Li Shenwei
China Construction Middle East Company's Itihad Railway Phase II A Project focuses on protecting rare animals in the area. The picture shows the Featherjaw Bustard moving freely in the area.
Strong joint photography
The staff of the Manzanillo Phase III project in Mexico are transferring iguanas found in the project area.
Photo by Martha Alcanta
The sheep are resting at the Irish wind farm operated by CGN Europe Energy Company.
Photo by Zhang Xin
The "Bee Hotel" built by COFCO Brazil in the state of S ã o Paulo, Brazil.
Photographed by Alice Bennetti
In the Saudi Arabian Red Sea development project undertaken by China Harbour Engineering Co., Ltd., staff used water quality detection buoy sensors to monitor the water quality in the construction area.
Photo by Tang Haowei
The Benin Nibe pipeline project has been rerouted to completely avoid forest protected areas.
Photo by Liang Zhengwei
Biodiversity fills the earth with vitality and is also the foundation for human survival and development. Protecting biodiversity helps to maintain the Earth's home and promote sustainable human development. When Chinese enterprises carry out project construction overseas, they adhere to the concept of green and sustainable development, actively assume environmental protection responsibilities, and take measures such as changing routes and relocating animals to protect the biodiversity of the project location, which has been widely praised.
Benin Nibe Pipeline Project——
Make way for forest reserves
A 600000 square meter forest reserve is lush near the city of Sakaitai in the Benin Plateau Province of African countries. In May this year, with the continuous progress of the construction of the Nibe pipeline project invested and constructed by China National Petroleum Corporation, the established pipeline route intersected with the edge of the protected area.
"According to the original design plan, the length of the intersection area between the pipeline and the forest protection area is about 480 meters. Calculated based on a land acquisition width of 20 meters, the expected area of the intersection area will reach 9600 square meters." According to Arabi Adonis, the construction coordinator of the Nibe Pipeline project, the project team also found through on-site inspections that there are more than 120 locally unique plants and more than 300 other rare plants growing in the intersection area, which has extremely high scientific research and ecological protection value.
Despite the tight construction time and increased construction costs, the project team extended the pipeline by 310 meters without affecting the construction progress, completely bypassing the forest protection area. The new route is about 60 meters away from the boundary of the protected area, leaving more space for wild animals and plants in the forest, further reducing the impact of project construction on the protected area.
This measure has won widespread recognition from the local people. Professor Dusan Lugbeinong from the School of Tropical Forests at the National Agricultural University of Benin stated that this forest is a precious natural treasure of the local area, and the choices made by Chinese enterprises fully reflect the high importance placed on environmental protection. Local mainstream media have also expressed appreciation, saying, "The Nibe pipeline has protected the Sakaitai National Forest Reserve!"
The Nibe pipeline has a total length of 1980 kilometers, starting from the Agamem oil field in Niger and ending at the Port of Saime in Benin. It is of great significance in promoting the development of the areas along the route. Chinese enterprises attach great importance to green environmental protection in project construction, not only using environmentally friendly pipeline materials, but also conducting in-depth environmental and social impact research and assessment, and hiring international third-party companies to conduct environmental monitoring on construction sites. "Thank you to Chinese companies for taking practical actions to build a 'green pipeline'," said Kodovid, Director of the Environment Agency of the Ministry of Life and Environment of Benin.
Manzanillo Phase III project in Mexico——
Helping rare animals move into new homes
Manzanillo, in the state of Corima, Mexico, is warm and humid year-round, with numerous rare organisms inhabiting large areas of mangrove forests. According to the risk classification of flora and fauna in Mexico, there are about 35 endangered species here, and about 74 species of flora and fauna require special protection.
In December 2022, to help Manzanillo solve its electricity problem, the construction of the Manzanillo Phase III project in Mexico, undertaken by Harbin Electric International Engineering Company, began. During the site preparation period, the project team discovered several protected animals, including iguanas, and quickly held an on-site meeting to introduce the relevant situation to local staff and take measures to properly protect these animals.
Afterwards, the project team specially hired veterinarians specializing in wildlife research to trap rare wild animals in the construction area of the project. After recording detailed information such as gender, age, and size, some of them were placed on a hill about 800 meters away from the project team, while others were relocated to a Federal Power Commission camp 1 kilometer away. Due to the similarity of natural conditions between these two locations and their original habitats, the relocated animals quickly adapted to the new environment.
"Finding the balance between economic development and environmental protection is an advanced concept that I learned from the Manzanillo project." Local employee Martha Alcanta of the company said that in addition to focusing on protecting wildlife, the project also planted 2092 unique fruit trees for the local area during construction. "Chinese companies strictly comply with the regulations of the Mexican environmental authorities, which not only minimizes the environmental impact of the project, but also contributes to the ecological environment protection here," she said.
"Pollination Program" in S ã o Paulo State, Brazil——
Allowing bees to stay in hotels as well
Not long ago, a World Bee Day promotion event kicked off in Ibira, S ã o Paulo, Brazil. COFCO Brazil promotes the importance of bees in agricultural production and ecological balance through a series of activities such as showcasing different types of honey and explaining honeycomb placement techniques, attracting more local people to participate in the pollination program.
As early as 2016, COFCO Brazil launched a "pollination program" around a sugarcane plantation located in Catandua, S ã o Paulo, using technological means to minimize the adverse effects of pesticide use on bees. With the help of local beekeepers, the company inputted relevant information such as the beehive and the main foraging areas of bees into the drone map, ensuring that the drone automatically stopped spraying operations in these areas and quickly drove away, achieving good results. "After the implementation of the 'pollination plan', the mortality rate of bees in my beehive almost dropped to zero," said Mauricio Rodriguez, a beekeeper living nearby.
In recent years, the content of "pollination plans" has become more diverse, including popularizing bee related knowledge on campus, organizing World Bee Day promotional activities, and building a beehive called "Bee Inn" to provide a habitat for solitary bees in the city. Nowadays, in the campus near the company, children can have intimate contact with stingless bees, observe the structure of the hive, and taste different types of honey. Through interaction, they learn relevant knowledge and establish a sense of respecting nature and protecting biodiversity.
"Biodiversity is the foundation of agriculture and the food industry, and we hope to contribute to protecting nature while ensuring food quality," said Julia Moretti, Global Head of Sustainable Development at COFCO International. Currently, the "pollination program" has expanded to COFCO's other sugarcane plantations in S ã o Paulo and will also be extended to sugarcane, coffee, and soybean production areas such as Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais in the future.
